"Hey, Ivan! What're you doing? Stop staring at nothing and help me move this!" I looked away from the shadows and helped my boss move a couple of heavy boxes with ease. "I swear, you young people and your strength."

We both laughed weakly, and I sat down. He didn't know. He was just an human who was in his 30s that took me and my sister in when we collapsed on his doorstep. Literally. We both loved him like the parents we never knew. He had helped us get a house near the edge of town not too long ago.

"Do you believe in superstition, Taio? Like... the Lady in White or... spirits? Do you believe that they're real or just human imagination?" I looked at him, curious for his answer. His brown eyes grew thoughtful.

"I do. Who's to say that they're fake? Human kind has gotten so disbelieving, that they shun anything they can't exactly accept. It's our flaw, I suppose, that we shun the supposedly unbelieveable. I believe in superstition and myth wholeheartedly. It's all completely true."

"Have you seen anything that makes you say that, Taio?" He smiled widely.

"I have, in fact." I looked at him. "It was when I was in Rome. I was alone and walking in the woods outside of some ruins. I heard multiple growls, then I was pinned under a massive paw. I didn't know what it was, but then I saw three sets of angry green eyes. I admit, I was scared out of my mind. But all the paw did was keep me in place, it didn't crush me or hurt me in anyway. Then the dog was gone."

"What happened, Taio? Is that why you're suspicious of dogs?"

"Yes, Ivan, it is. But here's why – when the animal turned to look at me once more, I saw it had ithree/i heads. It may have been Cerebus, protecting someone. Possibly his master, I wouldn't know. But that was over 15 years ago, when I was living in Rome with my parents. I've never forgotten it."

I ran my hand through my hair and smiled. "A master, hmm?" He nodded, smiling. "Ah! I'll see you tomorrow, Taio." He laughed and slapped my back as I ran from the shop, looking at the sun.

I pulled my scarf from my face and collided with someone. We both hit the ground. "I-I'm sorry, it's my fault, aru. I wasn't watching where I was going!" I sat up and looked at him, shaking my head.

"No, I wasn't watching where I was going, da." I took his hand and he pulled me up. He turned my palm over suddenly, making me freeze. I narrowed my eyes and pulled my hand from his grasp.

"I see. I'll be going now, aru." He turned and walked back the direction he came. I ran after him and turned him around, demanding to know why he did that. "You'll see soon, aru." He walked away, leaving me standing there.

"...what was that? Humans are so strange, da." I shook my head and ran the rest of the way home. "Natalia! Do you know what today is?" My little sister looked up from her homework.

"The meeting?" I nodded and she sat back with a sigh.

"Taio told me he had a run-in with a Cerebus-like animal." She shrugged and got up.

"Should we go now so we can get there before the others, so that they don't scold us because of our lateness?" I nodded and she drifted to the door, changing to her fox form. I opened the door and closed it behind us.

We started running, her in her fox form, and me in my human form. Still. "Who do you think will be there, brother?" I looked down at her and thought about it.

"Well... Arthur, Alfred, Ludwig, Feliciano, Roderich, Elizabeta, Seychelles, Matthew, Lovino, Antonio and Vash. We haven't found any other non-human's yet, so that's all. Maybe the others will bring someone, but I doubt it, da." She skidded to a stop in the leaves, looking ahead.

Her rival, Seychelles, looked back at her, in her spirit cat form. "Well, well. I didn't think you would come." Her black fur as glossy as usual, her brown eyes glittering. She stood up and padded away, tail waving. "It's about to start, you know~"

I ran forward, and jumped, changing in mid-air; my paws hit ground and Natalia trotted forward, tail swishing. I padded after her, looking around. Everyone I'd said that would be there was there.

I looked down at the bristling cat with blue eyes. "Do you honestly think I'm scared of you, Alfred?" He sat back with a small snort.

"Nah. You're not scared of me anymore. It was fun while it lasted though~" I rolled my eyes and pushed at the cat, then looked around. The only ones still in their human forms were the other spirits, Feliciano, Roderich, Elizabeta, Lovino, Antonio and Vash, or elements, in Roderich and Elizabeta's cases.

"You idiot. Why would a wolf be scared of a demon cat?" Arthur growled, padding up to us, glowering. I stood up and yawned.

"I'm not scared of you either, Arthur, da. Just because you're a barghest, doesn't mean I should be afraid~" He turned his green-eyed glower at me. "I don't have a reason to be scared of a black mutt." I walked away and sat down by my sister.

"You enjoy making Arthur mad, don't you?" I shrugged slightly, and Natalia sighed. We both looked up when someone scrabbled up the rock in the center of the clearing. "Feliciano? Where's the wolf?" She looked at the brown-haired boy, who smiled.

"Doitsu's on his way~ So he told me to tell you that, ve~" I stretched out and waited for him. Anyone could easily be the leader, but it was given to Ludwig since he was the only one who even bothered trying to keep order. And he'd also fight anyone who tried to bother taking the leadership.

Everyone in the clearing looked up at a sigh. "It seems I'm late. Sorry. But I've found another." Matthew and Alfred (demon cat twins) padded up to the newcomer, curious. "His name's Kiku. An ookami." Seychelles, a cat spirit, sat on Arthur's head, a small cat-like grin crossing her face. The black dog didn't even try to shake her off.

"This is Mei Mei." He said in a monotone, and a dragon peered curiously over Kiku's shoulder, taking us in. He bored me already... "She's not the only dragon, but I cannot find my older brother."

"What do you mean you can't find me, aru! You left me behind there!" The guy I'd ran into earlier scowled at his brother as he stepped out from the woods. I stood up and walked over to him. "Oh, I remember you, aru. You ran into me!" I sighed.

"Da, then you ran away."

"Quiet. If there's nothing else to be said, then I guess you're free to go." Everyone disappeared into the surrounding woods, including Kiku and Mei Mei. Natalia prodded my side with her paw. "Don't you two go yet, Ivan, Natalia. I need to talk you two. Yao, you can stay or go."

Yao stayed, but Feliciano went with his brother. "Why do you need us, Ludwig?" I asked, looking at him. He sighed and brushed his wet hair from his eyes. Yao looked at us, confused.

"It's about your sister, I think her name is Katyusha?" Natalia and me looked at each other, and I nodded. Natalia put her paws on my head and looked at Ludwig seriously. "Well, since Roderich is the wind... He's heard of a succubus who was found unconscious in the eastern lake by some water spirits..."